Would it be very difficult to make it optional and let the user set their own ebot preferences, per item/person? + a global setting to toggle all gallery ebots on and off...

@Frequency good - This is easy to do if you are only referring to one section of the site, however the functionality that Lenord is referring too is site-wide. Therefore, you'd really have to have an entire page to customize ebot notifications. You'd have to have a section for the marketplace, one for the galleries, etc. Then some users might want ebots for specific actions within a section, for example some users might want ebots on uploads, some might want ebots on favorites and things really would get complex. Again, while this might be fine for users who are familiar to our site, it would be extremely overkill for newer users who aren't so familiar with the system.

A better way to do this is to have a custom activity feed that is populated by a user's following, then each user can use the activity feed however they want which takes the complexity out of equation.

On top of all this, the ebot issue is also hardware related and slows down a lot of our backend, job type processes.

Also, instead of having to keep up with hundreds of emails the user can simply access their activity feed at any time and the data is also up to date. So if someone uploaded something then deleted it, the activity will not be displayed whereas a ebot will be inaccurate.

Activity feed positives:

• It allows users to access custom site-wide updates from one location. If you are involved in multiple areas of the site you do not have to rely on ebots from all areas.
• Data is live and up to date. If someone uploaded something then deleted it, the activity will not be displayed whereas a ebot will be inaccurate.
• Allows for easy customization by simply unfollowing or following a user.
• Allows a user to use a site in many different ways. If you are an artist you can just follow people you purchase products from or you could use it as a social tool and follow users you like.

Also, the 'For You' sections within the galleries and the marketplace tie into your followers generating tailored content allowing for a customizable experience.